Reading list for first grade (and would a 3 year old enjoy it too?)

[ChristusG]

I'm looking to do more read alouds this year. My girls love being read to. But I find us reading things like Dora books, Clifford, Scooby Doo, etc. They love those books, but I'm looking for something a little....deeper, I guess.

 

We tried out the Little House books, but honestly, they go into so much detail about how they do certain things, that the girls lost interest. Is there a reading list anywhere of good things to read for a first grader? My 3 year old also loves to be read to, so she'll probably listen in as well....so I'd love for them to be entertaining to her as well.

 

We've read one or two Magic Treehouse books. Is that a good series to read? Any other suggestions would be great as well!

[ABQmom]

I have a list of our favorite picture books on the sidebar of my blog and a link to the 1,000 great books list. If you look at my labels and click on "books" or "Weekly Report", you'll find a few more picture books that we have loved.

 

Also, anything by Eric Carle comes to mind. At that age, I also check catalogs for good lists. Check Sonlight, Veritas Press, and Five in a Row.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited June 13 by SilverMoon

[~Kirsten~]

We started with My Father's Dragon (and the other two in the series), and then our first true successes with read alouds were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte's Web. Both of those were last year, when my oldest was turning 5. Little House is still really hit-and-miss for us, too. They ask about it, but they tend to run off or get easily distracted.

 

They love Paddington, so any of those books work well, and I enjoy reading them. They also loved Raggedy Ann, but I'll admit I didn't enjoy that as much. Mercy Watson might be an option, but around here, I like that better for encouraging reading to herself (same with Magic Treehouse, honestly).

 

We read Little Pear this year when we were studying China, and they LOVED it. That's another series with more than just the one book, so if it works, you can get a lot of mileage out of it. My oldest does love Roald Dahl, so we've done a few of his. My youngest didn't listen as well, for whatever reason. Both Charlotte and Trumpet of the Swan were wonderfully popular. Right now we're on a Henry Huggins kick, so there's another series to consider.

 

Also, you might want to see if your library has The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. Lots of ideas there! Plus, here's something from his website with books read aloud to a little girl, starting at age 4: http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/erinlist2.html . So many ideas there, but I'll warn you, it's a bit discouraging to compare that list to my own! :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm sure you'll get tons of suggestions! For us, it's been a game of trial-and-error, just throwing books out there and seeing what the girls enjoy. It's been fun, though! Best wishes to you!

[Mom-ninja.]

I also always check reading lists/catalogs for ideas.

 

Sonlight and Five in a Row as a pp stated are great.

 

I agree with The Read Aloud Handbook. I also have Books That Build Character.

 

Check Ambleside as well.

[Leila]

These are some read aloud favorites in our house:

 

Charlotte's Web

Winnie the Pooh

Mr. Popper's Penguin

Peter Rabbit

Little Bear

A Bear called Paddington

Henry and Mudge

Mr. Putter Series

 

You can also go to Veritas press, Ambleside or Sonlight websites. They have tons of read aloud suggestions.

[LibraryLover]

Babe

Mr Popper's Penguins (hate this book lol)

Mary Poppins

The Light House Family series, Henry & Mudge books, all by Cythia Rylant

Children of Noisy Village

Milly, Molly, Mandy books

Wizard of Oz books

Mythology, folktales, fairytales

Edited April 15, 2010 by LibraryLover

[littlebug42]

Winnie the Pooh is one here that the girls keep coming back to. They also liked Mr. Popper's Penguins, Dr. Doolittle, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. My dd6 really liked Flat Stanley books as well.

[FairProspects]

This has been our quest too, and it is harder than it first appears. What has worked best for us are the Ambleside Year 0 & 1, and Sonlight P4/5 & K suggestions that have the most pictures to keep interest. The Memoria Press K read-aloud list has also been good. The hits from this year approved by both boys:

 

The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter

Winnie-the-Pooh

Columbus

Benjamin Franklin

George Washington (all D'Aulaire biographies)

Cinnabar the One o'clock Fox

The Random House Book of Nursery Stories

A Treasury of Children's Literature

James Heriot's Treasury for Children

The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit

Johnny Appleseed (the Holland version listed as part of Sonlight K)

 

I think the key for this age is to find quality literature that is also well-illustrated. The above titles seemed to be both for us, but I do understand how difficult it can be to keep their interest and challenge them with language. Good luck!

[Mama2two]

I agreew ith FIRA and Sonlight, they are great for book ideas!

 

Simply Charlotte Mason has a great book list and so does Elizabeth Foss.

 

Here is the Elizabeth Foss list:

 

http://charlottemason.tripod.com/4real_learning_booklist.htm#Year%201%20%28K-2%29

[fairytalemama]

We found the same problem with the Little House books. My daughter really liked Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie, but had pretty much no interest in Farmer Boy and On the Banks of Plum Creek.

 

I have found the Ambleside Year 0 list to be an awesome resource. Here's the link--- http://amblesideonline.org/00.shtml

 

If you join the Year 0 Yahoo group, it's available as an Excel spreadsheet. I printed that out and bring it to the library with me. I check books off as we read them. As I planned my daughter's K year read alouds, I included the remaining AO Year 0 books we hadn't yet read, Sonlight K books that our library had, and books from the Hillsdale Academy list. You can download their curricula for free here ---> http://www.hillsdale.edu/academy/academics/curriculum.asp

 

One book we just read (it's a picture book, not a chapter book) that was a big hit was Carolinda Clatter by Mordecai Gerstein. A couple of chapter books that we just finished that my daughter couldn't get enough of were Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

 

Our planned read aloud list is also on my blog which is embedded in my signature. Good luck. No matter what I'm sure you'll find something your kids will love.

[abbeyej]

I would start with Five in a Row and Veritas First Favorites lists. Then begin to add in chapter books. But those lists are *wonderful* first starts...

[chiguirre]

I'll put in a plug for Five in a Row too. We did most of the books when ds was 6 and dd was 4. It was a great year. Check out

 

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/

 

for free FIAR-like units.

 

I'd save First Favorites for read alones. My dd is enjoying them immensely now, but they're also meant for the child to read, not as a read aloud (at least if you're using the worksheets).

[ALB]

Another vote for FIAR here, plus James Herriot's "Treasury for Children." My dd4 is horse crazy and likes the Margurite O'Henry books (Misty of Chincoteague, etc.), but those are pretty far above her comprehension level. Sonlight read-alouds are also great.

I think if you do a combo of picture books and classic chapter books, your 3 year old might learn to enjoy even the ones with less pictures.

Oh, and we love the Dover Children's Thrift classics like "Favorite Uncle Wiggily Animal Bedtime Stories."

[Lightly Salted]

We're using Sonlight's Core K, and have really enjoyed a lot of the read-alouds. The ones with stars we also read the sequels:

 

*Boxcar Children

*Dr. Doolittle

*Grandma's Attic

*My Father's Dragon

*Wizard of Oz

Dolphin Adventure and Dolphin Treasure

House at Pooh Corner

[EppieJ]

I'll second the Sonlight lists. Check out the PreK cores as well as K and 1. There's lots of good reading there.

[Rosie_0801]

Girls would probably like Noel Streatfeild's books. If you don't mind some Aussie content ;) there's Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs.

 

Rosie

[gandpsmommy]

Here are some my kids enjoyed:

 

Picture Books

 

• retellings of fairy tales/folk tales such as Goldilocks and The Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Red Hen, The Elves and The Shoemaker, The Princess and The Pea, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty (If you look at the library you can usually find a section of folk/fairy tales and choose the ones you like best, with the best illustrations, etc.)
  
• Aesop's Fables
  
• Henry books by D.B. Johnson (These have wonderful illustrations. They are inspired by the life and writings of Henry Thoreau, but in these books Henry is a bear, and all of his friends are animals, also. My kids loved these books then and still love them now.
  
• books by Laura Numeroff, especially the If you. . . books (E.g. If You Give a Moose A Muffin, If You Take a Mouse To School, etc.)
  
• The HarperCollins My First Picture Book Treasury was a great resource for us when the kids were those ages. It has lots of great classics that we have enjoyed over and over again including: Caps For Sale, George Shrinks, Pete's A Pizza, Crictor, and more.
  
• Frances books by Russel Hoban
  
• books by Kevin Henkes
  
• books by Eric Carle
  
• books by Rosemary Wells
  
• Curious George books
  
• non-fiction books from the science section, especially Let's Read and Find Out series
  

 

Novels

 

• James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
  
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
  
• The Trumpet of The Swan by E.B. White
  
• Charlie and The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
  
• Mr. Popper's Penguins
  
• Tumtum and Nutmeg by Emily Bean
  

 

I find it helpful to look through the Sonlight catalong to get ideas for longer read-alouds. Good luck and enjoy!

 

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[Hedgehogs4]

i would go to the library and check out any books that are beautifully illustrated and have good stories in them. at your kids' ages, it sounds like they could still enjoy a good story cover-to-cover, and not chapter-by-chapter. Jan Brett is one of our favorite authors, with fun stories and complex beautiful illustrations, often that have a subplot hidden within. my ds 8 and dd5 still love to sit down and have me read them to them.

 

also richard scarry, harold and the purple crown and winnie the pooh, and oh, good grief...the list is WWWAAAAAYYYY too long. pitch the tv themed things and go for the good stuff.

[meet me in paris]

These are some read aloud favorites in our house:

 

Charlotte's Web

Winnie the Pooh

Mr. Popper's Penguin

Peter Rabbit

Little Bear

A Bear called Paddington

Henry and Mudge

Mr. Putter Series

 

You can also go to Veritas press, Ambleside or Sonlight websites. They have tons of read aloud suggestions.

:iagree: Love those!

[abbeyej]

Another book with lists to keep you going for years (and good reading about *why* to read aloud to your kids) is Honey for a Child's Heart.

[Lovedtodeath]

I would start with picture books. Jim Trelease's handbook and Five in a Row are good places to get specific ideas.

 

I also really like suggestions on tanglewoodeducation.com.